Abstract
BackgroundWorld Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) as the optimal way to feed infants below 6 months of age. The benefits of EBF are well documented. However, in Tanzania, EBF is still rarely practised. This study explored the knowledge, attitudes and practises of EBF among mothers in Kilimanjaro region of northern Tanzania.MethodsThis is a qualitative research study. The three districts in Kilimanjaro region namely Same, Moshi Municipal Council and Rombo districts were selected. In each district, three focus group discussions (FGDs) with mothers of infants aged 0–12 months were conducted. A total of 78 mothers participated in the focus group discussion.ResultsThe main result is that most of the mothers had a theoretical knowledge of the benefits of EBF but were not able to practise this knowledge for a range of reasons. The reasons for not practising EBF in real life included poor maternal nutrition, the pressure for women to return to work, inadequate knowledge about expressing breast milk, and perceived insufficiency of milk supply. Additionally, mothers received conflicting advice from a range of sources including close relatives, community members and health care providers, and they often choose the advice of their elders. Mothers also offered suggestions on ways to improve EBF including educating the community on the benefits of EBF.ConclusionThe results show that the women need support from close relatives and employers to successfully practise EBF. This presents a need for involving close relatives in EBF interventions, as they are important sources of breastfeeding information in the community. Additionally, behavioural interventions that promote optimal breastfeeding practises might help to improve exclusive breastfeeding.
Highlights
World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) as the optimal way to feed infants below 6 months of age
In this paper the themes that were mentioned in all nine Focus group discussion (FGD) were breastfeeding knowledge, perceived benefits of EBF, reasons for not practising EBF, multiple sources for breastfeeding information and ways to improve EBF practise in the community
The reason for not practising EBF included poor perceived maternal nutrition, pressure for women to return to work, inadequate knowledge about properly expressing breast milk and perceived insufficiency of milk supply
Summary
World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) as the optimal way to feed infants below 6 months of age. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding as an optimal way to feed infants [1]. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is defined as feeding the infant with breast milk alone for the first 6 months of life. EBF has been documented to confer many benefits to the child and the mother. Children who are exclusively breastfed have decreased risk of getting infections and reduced risks of chronic illnesses later in life [5,6,7]. Exclusively breastfed children have been shown to have good sensory and cognitive development, less risk of being malnourished and decreased risk of mortality and morbidity [2, 8]. Longer duration of breastfeeding is associated with decreased risks of ovarian and breast cancer [1, 9]
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